The National Defense Committee and the Public Administration and Security Committee of the National Assembly have scheduled an emergency inquiry session for December 5th to question the circumstances under which President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law.
According to the National Assembly, the Democratic Party requested the convening of a full committee meeting for the inquiry the previous day. Although initiated by the Democratic Party, the People Power Party is also expected to attend the meeting and agree to the opposition’s request for the summoning of witnesses.
The witness list includes Kim Yong-hyun, the Minister of National Defense, who proposed the martial law, Park Ahn-soo, the Army Chief of Staff who was appointed as the martial law commander, Kwak Jong-geun, the Army Special Warfare Command leader who mobilized troops for the martial law, Intelligence Commander Yeo In-hyeong, and Lee Jin-woo, the Capital Defense Command leader.
However, since Minister Kim expressed his intention to resign to President Yoon the day before, there is a possibility that he might not attend the meeting. In this case, opposition lawmakers are likely to focus on questioning Chief of Staff Park about the drafting of the martial law proclamation, which included stipulations on media control and banning political activities.
The Public Administration and Security Committee will also hold an emergency inquiry session. By bipartisan agreement, Minister Lee Sang-min and Commissioner Park Hyun-soo of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security have been summoned. From the police, demands for attendance have been extended to Commissioner Jo Ji-ho, Kim Bong-sik, the chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, as well as various safety and security division leaders.
Inquiries at the Public Administration and Security Committee are expected to focus on the police response immediately following President Yoon’s declaration of martial law.